


Decontamination

by AppyNation



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, There's almost drowning, and Keith panicking, and Lance panicking, injuryfic, it's the room from season 2 episode 4, so much panicking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-27 21:01:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10049123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppyNation/pseuds/AppyNation
Summary: Keith is put in charge of cleaning the decontamination chamber, but one wrong move could cost him his life.





	

Keith walked into the decontamination chamber, a bucket and rag in hand. He let out a deep sigh as he dropped the items next to him and began to soak the rag. With all of the action and far too many Zarkon attacks, and the Castle of Lions was looking a little worse for wear. Allura had the bright idea of taking this rare day of peace to do a little “spring cleaning”, recruiting the paladins to help and do their part.

“We should be training… who knows when Zarkon will attack next. This chamber is _literally_ a washing machine. How could it get dirty??” Keith muttered to himself as he took a breath to settle the frustration bubbling in his chest before beginning to use the rag and wipe off what seemed to be some sort of soap scum off the walls. He finished that section as he stood up straight, exhaling as he wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his gloved hand. “This is going to take _forever._ ” He sighed as he leaned his hand against the wall to support himself, opening his eyes wide and looking at his hand as he heard a loud beep. His palm was resting against the control panel. Keith let out a gasp his hand reeling back as his body tensed, looking toward the exit as the door slammed shut, the room now illuminating in a pulsing red light. “Crap!” he pressed the button again, then repeatedly before slamming his fist on it—nothing. He ran over to the windowed door panel as he began pounding on the glass. “HEY! ANYONE OUT THERE!” he started yelling, hoping one of his teammates happened to be walking by. He took a steeling breath, telling himself to calm down, though his fears soon escalated when panels in the walls opened with a hiss, water beginning to pour out of them. Keith’s heart froze as he spun around, both fists now pounding on the door, screaming. “HELP!!”

Lance had been down the hall a bit, humming to himself as he moved the Altean equivalent of a broom across the floor. His (or should he say _Pidge’s_ ) headphones were on the fritz again, so he had to deal with the silence and his own voice to pass the time. He danced along the hallway, doing his best to make this mundane task as fun and entertaining as possible, when he heard a noise from down the hall. He frowned standing up straight, squinting down the dim hallway as if that would help him hear better.

“—ELP--!”

Before he even knew what was going on, Lance had dropped the broom and was booking it down the hallway. That was Keith’s voice, and he sounded panicked. His eyes shot wide as he came up to the door and, subsequently, Keith. At this time, the room had filled almost half way with water, almost causing Keith to start floating. “LANCE!!” Keith shouted, his voice obviously hoarse from the screaming. “OPEN THE DOOR!”  
  
“U-uh, okay!” Lance jumped before scrambling to the panel next to the door, hitting the button.

Nothing.

He hit it a few more times before looking back at Keith, “it won’t open!”

The water was spilling in faster now as Keith had to wade in the water to stay afloat.

Keith’s heart raced as he looked around for anything that could be of use to him. “Figure out a way to get the door open!!” he yelled before he swam over to where the bucket was floating. He grabbed it and looked down at the control panel he had initially pressed, which was now submerged. He took a deep breath and swam down into the cold water, grabbing the bucket by the sides as he began to hit the panel with the bottom of the aluminum-like bucket. He got a few good hits on it before he had to come up for air—which was decreasing. The water level was getting close to the ceiling. Keith’s head emerged as he took a few gasping breaths. He had another 30 seconds max before the entire room was submerged.

“LANCE!!”

Lance was trying not to panic as he looked around for something to damage the outside control panel with. His head shot back down the hallway as he took off, sprinting toward the broom he had dropped earlier. He slid across the floor grabbing it as he turned to run back.

Keith’s hands were pressed against the ceiling as he took the last few deep breaths of oxygen the room had before it was completely submerged. He grabbed the bucket again, swimming over to the panel as he hit it a few more times before realizing the energy he was exerting only depleted the little oxygen he had left. He swam over to the window, watching as Lance stabbed at the control panel with the handle of the broom.

His chest ached, begging for the air he was refusing to give it. He hit the door a few more feeble times before his eyes began to drift shut, his body automatically trying to breathe in as an inhale full of water entered his body. He struggled for a moment, his vision began to darken as his oxygen starved body began to shut down.

So this was how he was going to die. Not fighting Zarkon. Not saving the universe. But by accidently hitting a damn button and drowning.

Lance screamed as he stabbed the buttons as hard as he could one last time, the panel shattering as the door hissed and raised, a wall of water swelling out from the room. Lance gasped and tried to brace himself but the wall of water knocked him off his feet and sent him sliding a good twenty feet away from the chamber. As soon as he could regain his footing, he scrambled up running to his fellow paladin who laid limp on the wet ground.

“KEITH! Oh god, oh god, oh god”

He grabbed Keith pulling him onto his back as he immediately began doing compression pumps on his chest. “1…2…3…”

He leaned down, pinching Keith’s nose as he blew air into his mouth.

“Keith, come on buddy, breathe!”

Again. “1…2…3!” Blow.

“Keith!”

After the third time, Keith’s lungs reacted as he turned to the side away from Lance coughing up water and gasping for breath.

Lance’s body crumbled in relief as he held onto Keith’s shoulder and rubbed his back, “y-you’re okay, you’re okay.” He said with a shaky, strained voice.

Keith could only nod, holding his chest as his lungs burned with the air it had so desperately seeked.

After a moment, Keith had gotten his breathing a bit more under control. “Come on.” Lance said as he stood up, helping Keith up and supporting him as they began walking toward the med bay. “Let’s go get dried off.”

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt for this fic was posted by whumpcity on tumblr, go follow them! Feel free to follow me as well! Tumblr name same as here.


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